Jesse Winchester | Winger

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Jesse Winchester (concussion) has been shut down by the Avalanche.

He is still experiencing vision and sickness problems as a result of a concussion he suffered in the preseason. Winchester has been fine when he skates at Colorado's practice facility, but he has issues in other surroundings. He will stick to off-ice workouts for now. Jan 1 - 6:18 PM

However, it doesn't sound like he's ready to return to the lineup yet. "If I played in a game right now I'd be hurting the team, because I'm not right," Winchester said. "It's hard to explain. I'm trying anything and everything to get healthy." He is feeling much better and is still waiting to make his Avalanche debut in the regular season. Mon, Dec 8, 2014 12:12:00 PM

He will not play Saturday night against Philadelphia as he still needs a little more time to recover from a concussion. Until Winchester is entirely symptom free he will not be permitted to suit up so if you have him on your fantasy squad (and we are not sure why anyone would) keep him on reserve. Sat, Nov 8, 2014 12:43:00 PM

Depth Charts

Duchene recorded his 300th career point on an assist late in the first period of Monday's 5-2 victory over Arizona.

Duchene got the play started by winning the offensive zone faceoff, Zach Redmond and Nick Holden played catch until Holden blasted it past Mike McKenna to make it 3-1 Avs. This coming nearly 12 minutes after Duchene had made it 2-0 Avs earlier. He now has 15 goals and 37 points this season, good for third on the team.

Nathan MacKinnon appears to have broken his nose in Saturday's loss to Minnesota.

The injury occurred after he was laid out by Wild forward Sean Bergenheim. MacKinnon didn't miss much time in the game. He put on a full cage shield on his helmet and was right back out there in no time. The sophomore forward is having a down year and he has found himself in Patrick Roy's doghouse of late. MacKinnon skated on the third and fourth line during the game.

Daniel Briere will be scratched against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night.

After finally getting out of the stands on Friday night for the first time in six games, Daniel Brier will again sit with the suits. The veteran forward has just eight goals and 11 points through 47 games this season.

He netted a power-play marker late in the contest when the Predators had already established a cushy lead. Mitchell's last goal came on Jan. 13 against Carolina. He has 19 points in 47 games this season.

Look for Marc-Andre Cliche to draw back in against Dallas Saturday night.

He was a healthy scratch against the Rangers Thursday to allow Avs' coach Patrick Roy to dress seven defensemen. Roy has indicated he may not dress that many rearguards against the Stars, so there is a good chance Cliche will get to dress.

He has notched 14 goals and 32 points in 50 matches with Lake Erie of the AHL this year. The 17th overall pick in the 2010 draft still hasn't made his NHL debut yet, but injuries have played a part in that.

Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic says that his "intention" is to try to re-sign Ryan O’Reilly.

O’Reilly has one more year left on a deal that carries a $6 million cap hit. Many have speculated he could be a big trade chip during this year’s trade deadline. Ultimately, whether O’Reilly gets moved will likely be determined this offseason. "Ryan is part of our core," Sakic said. "My intention is that at the end of the year I want to try and re-sign him. That will be the goal with Ryan. That being said, we're not going to want that same distraction going on all year next season, either. But he's a guy I want to have here. And hopefully we can work something out this summer." The 24-year-old has 10 goals and 36 points this season.

McGinn underwent back surgery in November and it was expected that he wouldn't play again this campaign. Now, we know for certain. McGinn posted four goals and six points in 19 games prior to having the procedure.

Tanguay has spent a little over half of his NHL career with his current team, the Colorado Avalanche. He has 269 goals and 813 points in 999 contests. At the age of 35, his career is likely winding down, but he is still a significant contributor with 40 points this season.

GM Joe Sakic thinks Jordan Caron will benefit from playing in Colorado.

"It hasn't worked out for him in Boston, but we like his size and speed and we felt a change of scenery might be beneficial for him, and it was a good chance for us to see what he can do here." Caron had trouble staying in Boston's lineup and he produced just 12 goals and 28 points in 134 career NHL contests.

He is still experiencing vision and sickness problems as a result of a concussion he suffered in the preseason. Winchester has been fine when he skates at Colorado's practice facility, but he has issues in other surroundings. He will stick to off-ice workouts for now.

Dennis Everberg scored a goal and an assist in Saturday's 4-1 win over the Dallas Stars.

Everberg picked up the primary assist on Alex Tanguay's second period goal and he also added a goal in the final minute of the game. The 23-year-old now has two goals and six points in 31 games this season. His fantasy upside is still non-existent.

Tyson Barrie scored a goal and two assists in Friday's 5-4 shootout win over Dallas.

Barrie was a plus-3 in just under 19 minutes of action. He also had two shots, two penalty minutes and two hits in the game. The three-point effort ties a career-high for him. Barrie has 10 goals and 39 points in 60 games this season. The 39 points are also a new career-high for the 23-year-old defenseman. Jarome Iginla, Nate Guenin and Gabriel Landeskog also scored for the Avs.

"Quite a few general managers" have asked about the availability of Jan Hejda, according to Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic.

Hejda is a pending unrestricted free agent who carries a $3.25 million cap hit. "His name has come up and quite a few GMs have inquired about him," Sakic said. "That's something the next couple of days, if something makes sense, we'll see. ... I like Jan, we'd like to have him back, but it is something we're going to have to discuss in the next couple of days if we want to go down that path. Because he is UFA. That's why teams are inquiring." Hejda has nine points in 61 games.

Brad Stuart will play in his 1000th career NHL game on Thursday night in Pittsburgh.

"It’s a nice accomplishment, something that you don’t really think about when you come into the league," Stuart said. "You’re just trying to stay in the league and establish yourself, and then as I got closer and closer I realized how it’s a pretty good milestone for someone to play that many games. It’s a lot games, but I’ve had a lot of fun and made a lot of good memories." The Avalanche will honor Stuart on December 23rd at the Pepsi Center.

Nate Guenin was supported by his teammates after he committed a brutal turnover in Tuesday's 3-2 shootout win over Dallas.

He gave the puck away to Ales Hemsky, who set up Erik Cole to give the Stars a 2-0 lead at the time. The Avalanche rallied in the third and won the game in a shootout. "Not just [goalie Semyon Varlamov], all the players on the team (were supportive) of Nate," coach Patrick Roy said. "Nate works so hard, blocking shots and playing important minutes with Tyson Barrie ... tougher for him because he's a defensive defenseman and doesn't have the opportunity to go and get a big goal for us. But his teammates did it for him."

Wilson was limited to just three games in 2014-15. He was originally sidelined for a suspected head injury and when he tried to return on Oct. 21, he sustained his current shoulder problem. His three-year, $6.75 million contract is set to expire this summer and he might have a tough time getting another one-way deal after playing in just 43 contests over the life of that deal.

It was another quality game by the 26 year old blue liner. He was an integral part of Colorado's second and third goals in the first period, helping to build a lead they'd never surrender. Redmond now has nine assists and 13 points in just 34 games played this season.

Semyon Varlamov yielded three goals on 32 shots in Colorado’s 3-1 loss to the Wild on Saturday night.

Varlamov gave up one goal in each period. He has been unable to singlehandedly win games for the Avs like he did last year. Despite three wins over his last five starts, just once he’s posted at least a .900 save percentage. He has a 2.68 goals-against average and .917 save percentage.

Reto Berra made 11 saves on 12 shots in a relief effort of Semyon Varlamov in just one period of play.

Funny thing is, Berra saw more shots. Varly saw just five shots, and none in the second period, through his 40 minutes of play. The Coyotes, presumably sparked by Coach Roy's pulling of the starter, sent considerably more pucks Berra's way in the third. Aside from a fluky bounce in Arizona's favor, Berra was stellar and Colorado prevailed 5-2.